When Ashley and Jon Sterkel set out to announce that they were expecting a baby boy, they probably never expected their gender reveal to result in a ticket from the local sheriff. But that's exactly what happened when the expectant couple attempted to share their big news using a rifle to set off an exploding target filled with a bunch of blue chalk powder.

According to the Omaha World Herald, a video of the blast was posted on Facebook with Jon excitedly shouting out, "It's a boy!" Sounds pretty cool, right? But apparently the sheriff's department started getting calls from neighborhood residents who thought maybe a house or car had exploded. Uh oh!

Jon then called the sheriff's office to explain and posted an apology on Facebook for any confusion. "This was just our way of announcing what gender our baby was," he wrote.

But sadly, it was too little, too late—the sheriff issued him a ticket for setting off an explosive without a permit anyway. And get this: The violation is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a fine of $1,000!

Jon told the Herald he had no clue the big gender reveal was illegal, and now he wants to help prevent others from making the same mistake.

"We never knew, and we've shot these for years," he said. "If you can go to a store and buy it, how in the world can you know it's illegal?"

Good point, especially considering the abundance of exploding target videos over on YouTube. Luckily, no one was hurt and no property was damaged. But even so, when the Sterkels' son is born in June, we're fairly certain they won't be broadcasting the news with any kind of bang.

Hollee Actman Becker is a freelance writer, blogger, and mom of two who writes about parenting and pop culture. Check out her websiteholleeactmanbecker.comfor more, and then follow her onInstagramandTwitter.